Display article



Z. SCHOOLCRAFT DISPLAY ARTICLE June l2, 1934.

Filed June 4, 1931 INVENTOR Zena cranlcrafi',

. l l k ATT NEYS.

Patented .une 12, 1934 DISPLAY ARTICLE Y Zeno Schoolcraft, Rochester, Mich.

Application June 4, 1931, Serial No. 542,065

s claims.

i, My invention relates to means for advertising perishable goods and it has particular relation to means for advertising expensive and highly perishable confections.

` Y The invention has for its main objects the provision of a means for and a method of reducing the cost of displaying perishable articles to prospective purchasers; the provision of accurate, durable and attractive simulations of perishable articles which may be economically displayed to customers in lieu of the less durable actual product; the provision of an accurate, inexpensive and durable display package simulating a box of candy.

In the sale of perishable goods such as candies and other confections it is customary to place on display for purposes of attracting customers actual samples of the goods. Unfortunately such goods when so exposed rapidly deteriorate and become unsightly either because of the decomposition of the material constituting the articles or because of deformation of the articles due to their relatively plastic nature. Because of this deterioration frequent replacement of the display articles is necessary. It is obvious that the original cost of the display articles is considerable and where the displays must'be replaced at frequent intervals the overhead expense involved in maintaining such displays is` excessive.

My invention as disclosed in this application involves the provision of inexpensive and durable simulations of articles which may be displayed in lieu of the actual articles, thereby materially reducing the expense of maintaining attractive displays.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference may now be had to the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure l is a perspective view of a typical display package containing a plurality of units simulating the appearance of units of the goods which are being advertised.

45 Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a unit of perishable goods which has been provided with a coating of relatively durable material.

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the durable coating after the perishable article forming the pattern therefor has been removed.

Fig. 5 is a cross sectional view showing the shell disclosed in Fig. 4 after it has been refilled with a relatively firm and durable material.

Fig. 6 is a cross sectional View of a slightly modified form of display article.

For purposes of illustration, I have shown the invention as applied to the manufacture of display units simulating pieces of candy similar to ordinary chocolates which, as shown in Fig. 3, comprise an inner filling 10 of some suitably flavored edible material. This filling is covered with an outer layer of chocolate or similar material indicated at l2, which in turn is covered with a layer 14 of some durable relatively non-thermoplastic material such as a nitro cellulose or pyroxeline varnish, shellac, bakelite or rubber cement which is suitably compounded in order to give it the desired degree of rigidity. It is of course, to be understood that the materials on which the coating is formed may contain the requisite coloring matter, required for rendering the coating material opaque and for reproducing the actual color of the article which is being simulated. The materials above rreferred to as suitable for coatings in the manufacture of my display unit are mentioned by way of example, and that other suitable materials may be applied to an ordinary confection to accomplish the same result.

The materials preferably are applied by reducing them by use of suitable solvent and/or heat to such fluid condition that they readily conform to the outline of the article to which they are to be applied. In this application, material may be sprayed upon the article 0r the articles may be dipped into baths containing the material in order to obtain the desired lm thereon. In many cases, a single application is insuilicient to produceV a coating possessing the requisite thickness andl durability and for that reason it is preferable to apply a plurality of successive lms each of which is permitted at least partially to set or dry before the application of the succeeding film. When a coating of the desired thickness is attained` the article is placed aside in order to permit hardening of the coating to a sufficient degree to permit of its ready handling.

As shown in Fig. 3 the portions of the surface of the article constituting the bottom is left uncoated. However, if desired, as shown in Fig. 6 the entire surface of the article may be covered with a layer of material 16 of desired thickness. Where the article is so coated the confection constituting a supporting lling is substantially sealed Within the outer or protective coating in such manner that the article may be satisfactorily used for purposes of display without further treatment. Where the original lling is thus retained, the use of coloring matter in the protective coating, if the latter is transparent, is unnecessary, because the natural color of the article shows through the coating.

However, in most instances it is desirable to remove the iilling material to leave a shell as shown in Fig. a which is practically a duplicate in appearance of the original article from which it Was produced. Where theform of the invention disclosed in Fig. 3 is employed the filling material within the outer casing may readily be removed by dissolving through the uncoated bottom. Removal of the filling material disclosed in Fig. 6 may most conveniently be effected by removal of the material coating the bottom of the confection and subsequent emersion in a solvent in the manner employed in connection with the coated article disclosed in Fig.3.

Under certain circumstances, if the shell 14 as disclosed in Figlil is of sufficient thickness and rigidity the latter may be employed for display purposes Without further treatment. However, in most cases, it is desirable tol introduce a relatively durable and inexpensive ller therein in order to insure that the display article Will possess sufficient rigidity to maintain its original shape and in order to impart the desired weight thereto. The article so lled is best disclosed in Fig. 5 in which a filling material such as plaster of Paris or relatively hard wax is indicated at 20. The ller is best introduced while it is in a plastic state, and is then permitted to set. It is to be understood that the shells may be formed of transparent o1 translucent materials and desired color rimparted thereto by use of proper colors in the filler.

An alternative method of preparing the ar ticles comprises molding the fillers 2O from suitable material such as plaster of Parisand then coating them with a varnish, or even with chocolate to give the appearance of candy.

rI'he units as thus prepared have all the appearance of natural confection and they may be displayed in the same manner as thelatter. For example, in the easeof candy the units may be disposed in conventional fiuted paper cups 22 and the 'latter introduced into a conventional box or carton 24 which functions as a container for the unit. The units as thus disclosed are composed or inexpensive material and they may be manufactured with a minimum expenditure of labor. They are also fully as attractive as the original materials which they simulate, but unike the original materials they Will last indefinitely Without deterioration and they .are not readily deformed by accidental pressures which may be exerted thereupon.

Although I have disclosed the invention as employed specifically to candies .it is to be understood that similar .methods may be employed in the manufacture of display units simulating practically any perishable material such as cake, ice cream and so forth. Accordingly the .invention is to be considered relatively broad in spirit and limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

l. A method of producing a durable simulation of quickly perishable confections which comprises coating a natural unit of confection with a fluid material adapted to set to forni a firm durable. shell having an external 'configuration substantially corresponding to that of the original unit and removing the original unit from the shell.

2. A method of `producing durable simulations of quickly perishable confection which comprises coating a natural unit of confection with a fluid material adapted to set to form a firm durable shell having an external configuration substantially correspondingvto that of the original unit and removing the original unit from the shell and subsequently filling the shell with a material providing a durable support therefor.

3. A method of producing durable simulations of quickly perishable confection which comprises coating a natural unit of confection with a fluid material adapted to set to form a firm durable shell having an external conguration substantially corresponding to thatof the original unit, removing the original unit from the shell, refilling the shell with a material providing a durable support, at least one of said materials having substantially the ycolor of the original confection.

4. A method of forming a simulation of a unit of candy which includes coating a natural unit of candy with a material-having greater durability than the natural surface of the candy and removing the unit to provide a durable shell simulating the original unit.

5. A method of forming a simulation of a unit of candy .which includes coating a natural unit of candy With a material having greater durability than the natural surface of said unit and .dissolving out the candy lling to provide a durable shell simulating the original unit and refilling the shell so formed with a durable supporting material.

6. A method of producing' simulations of quickly perishable confections which comprises coating an actual confection with cellulosic varnish. to providel a durable shell having substantially the appearance of the original article and removing the confection .fromthe shell.

'7. The method of producing simulations of quickly perishable confections which comprises coating an actual confection with cellulosic Yvarnish to provide a. durable shellhaving substantially the appearance of the` original article removing the confection from the shell and then lling the latter with a durable material.

8. A simulation of a unit of chocolate Icandy comprising a solid, hard, heat resistant, inedible coreand an outer layer of cellulosic .varnish simulating a chocolate coveringY and .adhereing to the core.

ZENO SCHOOLCRAFT. 

